SINGAPORE — A property agent posted about one of the challenges she faces at work when she found 11 people staying illegally in the rental home of one of her clients.
“Tenant ask if they remove the extra people when HDB comes to check, then put back when HDB leaves. Can we help them?” Ina Sultan wrote in a Feb 13 (Monday) TikTok that’s been viewed over 350,000 times.
@inasultan Its important to find a solution to protect my clients. This is after 1hr of talking, the tenants said they put in more people to share the high rental cost now. We want to help but we are bound to HDB rules too. #tanyakakina #kakinaejenrumah #hdb #hdbagent #Sellbuyrent #hdbsg #condosg #landedsg #sgproperty #sgpropertyagent #sghouseagent #buying #res #sgrealtor #erashielddivision #malaysg #tiktoksg #sgtiktok #rental #overcrowding
In the video, she’s seen speaking with her clients in Mandarin.
She captioned her video by writing, “Its important to find a solution to protect my clients. This is after 1hr of talking, the tenants said they put in more people to share the high rental cost now. We want to help but we are bound to HDB rules too…”
Ms Ina ended up having to ask the renters to leave due to breach of contract.
She said in a follow-up video that HDB had found out that there were 11 people in the house, while the maximum number is only six.
And the owner, she added, is out of the country.
@inasultan Goosebumps lah! #tanyakakina #kakinaejenrumah #hdb #hdbagent #Sellbuyrent #hdbsg #condosg #landedsg #sgproperty #sgpropertyagent #sghouseagent #buying #res #sgrealtor #erashielddivision #malaysg #tiktoksg #sgtiktok #rental #overcrowding #kickout #part2
The people in the house said they needed more time to find another place to live, and so were given an additional day before they needed to vacate the premises.
Ms Ina was asked to help out in the situation, which she says she’s faced dozens of times.
Nevertheless, this always makes her nervous, as some people tend to get angry or tearful.
The renters even offered her money to allow them to stay, which Ms Ina, of course, did not take. They also asked if some could leave temporarily while the check was carried out, and then come back when it was done.
The property agent expressed the hope that the situation would end peacefully, even for the owner’s sake, who is at risk of losing the property if rules kept being broken.
Her family comes with her to settle these types of situations, as her husband drives for her and their son is her “bouncer” and films her.
@inasultan Owners overseas. POA overseas. When HDB reports overcrowding, u must ask them to leave soonest, so owners dont get SAMAN or worse, HSE REPOSSESSED. Sorry dear tenants, we wish u well. #tanyakakina #kakinaejenrumah #hdb #hdbagent #Sellbuyrent #hdbsg #condosg #landedsg #sgproperty #sgpropertyagent #sghouseagent #buying #res #sgrealtor #erashielddivision #malaysg #tiktoksg #sgtiktok #rental #illegal #part3
♬ My Heart Will Go On (Instrumental) – Jack Ontario Soundorchestra
The situation appears to have gone peacefully, with Ms Ina writing “Sorry dear tenants…” in the next TikTok, which shows many household items, presumably belonging to those who needed to leave, outside the unit they had vacated. /TISG
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